Identifying and Managing Project Risk

This book helps you identify potential risks that might occur in large projects and guard against them. The book outlines methods for risk planning, drawing on hundreds of real-world examples. It provides tools to assess risk which can be integrated into the monitoring of projects. Its sections focus on different types of risk to consider during the planning process and how to use project metrics to estimate the amount of risk involved. This book will help to transform risk from a surprise into a variable that can be managed and kept in control.

This book can be found in HECSA Library:

Identifying and Managing Project Risk: Essential Tools for Failure-Proofing Your Project
2nd ed.
Tom Kendrick
HD 61 .K46 2009

Designing Interactions

Designing interactions is about shaping the way we think about and interact with technology, especially computer technology. Designers think about many things when creating a new product. They consider whether the product performs the function that it is supposed to. They think about how easy or difficult it is to use. They consider the price and how the product looks. They may also consider the social connotations of owning or using the product. This book discusses some of the characteristics of good design--a clear mental model, positive user feedback, clear navigation, and consistent behavior. It traces the history of digital design, providing many examples of good design and discussing what makes them so effective.

This book can be found in HECSA Library:

Designing Interactions
Bill Moggridge
QA 76.9 .H85 M64 2007

Linchpin

Godin asserts that there are now three categories of people in every workplace: management, labor, and linchpins. These linchpins, he explains, are the people who connect others, who make things happen, who lead regardless of their title or position within the organization, and create organization out of chaos. He believes that these linchpins are essential pieces of great organizations--they may not be well known, but they are indispensable. Godin argues that in today's world, linchpins are so important that they get the best jobs and are given the most freedom. Godin explains how each individual can make the choices in their workday and their career that can help them become a linchpin in their organization.

This book can be found in HECSA Library:

Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?
Seth Godin
HF 5549.5 .M63 G63 2010

Whole Earth Discipline

Brand points out three trends that he believes will impact the future of the earth: global warming, urbanization, and biotechnology becoming the dominant engineering tool. Unless environmentalists radially rethink the way they go about bringing environmental change, he predicts that the earth will deteriorate. In the process, Brand shatters a number of myths about current behaviors that are believed to harm our environment--cities, nuclear power, and genetic engineering--but that he asserts are really green practices. He emphasizes that our environmental challenges really lie in policies, social factors, and design trends, and offers inventive solutions for reshaping society toward a sustainable future.

This book can be found in HECSA Library:

Whole Earth Discipline: An Ecopragmatist Manifesto
Stewart Brand
GF 41 .B77 2009

Maestro

Orchestra conductor Nierenberg shows how to lead by listening in order to draw out an organizations full potential. Using his own personal experiences he tells the tale of a struggling executive who is challenged by a deeply divided, disfunctional team. By sitting in on an orchestra rehearsal, the executive learns a new perspective. The conductor does not micromanage, but rather communicates a larger vision and asks the orchestra members to each contribute their individual talents to it. He asks the orchestra members to take responsibility for the entire song, not just their individual part. And, he asks everyone to keep their ears open and receptive to new ideas. This leadership tale puts emphasis on listening, an often forgotten leadership trait.

This book can be found in HECSA Library:

Maestro: A Surprising Story about Leading by Listening
Roger Nierenberg
HM 1261 .N54 2009

American Soldiers in Iraq

Ender provides a window into the American Army and the culture of soldiers during war. Voicing the experience of soldiers, it provides insight into the experiences and attitudes of the military during their forward deployment in Iraq. Ender collected both quantitative and qualitative information from various groups of soldiers in Iraq, comparing and contrasting the groups between themselves and separating the views of officers from those of enlisted soldiers. He captures opinions on morale, boredom, preparation for war, women soldiers, communication back home, overlap of civil and military responsibilities, long-term impacts of war, and the impact of injuries and loss of life. This book captures the opinions and experiences of a broad range of the military during wartime in a way that has not been addressed before, and as such, is essential reading for commanders, students, and anyone who wants to understand the experience of soldiers in a warzone.

This book can be found in HECSA Library:

American Soldiers in Iraq: McSoldiers or Innovative Professionals?
Morten G. Ender
DS 79.76 .E526 2009

How to Measure Anything

Hubbard boldly asserts that "Anything can be measured." In this book, he explains why some things may seem immeasurable, but are not. He provides examples of seemingly impossible measurements taken using simple, intuitive methods. He shows how advanced statistical techniques can be applied easily. He also illustrates the value of measurement data, showing that you have probably been making the wrong assumptions about your business or measuring the wrong things. He even demonstrates how to measure "soft" things like happiness, satisfaction, quality, risk, and other concepts that have previously been difficult to quantify. This book is a must read for anyone who wants to collect data about their business or organization in order to have a baseline for improving.

This book can be found in HECSA Library:

How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of "Intangibles" in Business
2nd ed.
Douglas W. Hubbard
HF 5681 .I55 H83 2010

Reforminh Institutions in Water Resource Management

Around the world, water resources are becoming increasingly scarce. Nations are already searching for better institutions and management strategies to make the most of the water resources that they have. This book offers new approaches for analyzing and designing institutions that govern the use and development of water resources. It focuses on the management of water resources for agricultural use, since irrigation is the largest user of water. It draws on data from three Indian states, and compares them to Australia, as a developed nation, and to other less developed nations in Asia and Africa. These comparisons are useful in helping to identify and recommend the traits and features of successful water management institutions so that developing nations can plan for effective and long-term success in managing their declining natural resources.

This book can be found in HECSA Library:

Reforming Institutions in Water Resource Management: Policy and Performance for Sustainable Development
ed. by Lin Crase and Vasant P. Gandhi
TD 327 .R45 2009

Overcoming Compulsive Hoarding

These medical professionals differentiate between collecting things and hoarding. They describe the psychological conditions that bring about hoarding behaviors, and offer both medical and organizational strategies for combating these impulses. It contains exercises, strategies, and techniques that can be used to reduce clutter and get yourself organized. It also offers psychological explanations that help you understand what type of hoarder you are and to overcome the fear and anxiety that drives hoarding.

This book can be found in HECSA Library:

Overcoming Compulsive Hoarding: Why You Save & How You Can Stop
Fugen Neziroglu, Jerome Bubrick, and Jose A. Yaryura-Tobias
RC 533 .N496 2004

Just Listen

Goulston asserts that most people do not know how to listen. And if they do listen, they don't actually hear what other people are saying. By this, he means that most of us hear things through our own opinions, experiences, and filters, rather than actually understanding the intent of the person talking. He argues that by probing their feelings and just giving them an opportunity to talk, be heard, and feel that they are important, many conflicts can be resolved and real personal connections developed between individuals. This book is full of simple, common sense suggestions and sample conversations to help you improve your communication with friends, family, and coworkers alike.

This book can be found in HECSA Library:

Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone
Mark Goulston
HF 5719 .G68 2010

Taliban

Rashid offers an authoritative explanation of the Taliban, including its rise to power, its impact on Afghanistan and the Middle East region, its role in oil and gas company decisions, and the effect that changing American attitudes have on the organization. He also explains the context of Islamic fundamentalism and why Afghanistan has become the center of international terrorism.

This book can be found in HECSA Library:

Taliban
Ahmed Rashid
DS 371.2 .R367 2001

The World is Blue

Marine scientist Earle highlights a global ecosystem that is in danger of irreversible change. She asserts that the effects of pollution and climate change are most clearly visible in the seas, an ecosystem that covers three-quarters of the planet's surface. She weaves together years of ocean research with the latest findings about the state of the oceans. She concludes that this once seemingly inexhaustible resource is overexploited, polluted to toxic levels, and changed so that it is riddled with "dead zones." The good news, she believes, is that we have not yet passed the point of no return, and argues that we take immediate action to reverse the damage before it is too late.

This book can be found in HECSA Library:

The World is Blue: How Our Fate and the Ocean's Are One
Sylvia A. Earle
GC 21 .E28 2009

Own the Room

Research has shown that the most effective presentations are those that combine emotion and intellectual stimulation. This book outlines key principles of persuasive presentations and illustrates how these principles can be put into practice. Chapters are likened to a movie or stage production, focusing on the roles of varying participants in the presentation, the opening, closing, and narrative used. Others talk about how to handle stage fright, moving around during the presentation, and using PowerPoint. This book will be valuable to everyone who wants to improve their communication skills, whether speaking in front of a large audience or simply a small group.

This book can be found in HECSA Library:

Own the Room: Business Presentations that Persuade, Engage & Get Results
David Booth, Deborah Shames, Peter Desberg
HF 5718.22 .B66 2010

Strategic Planning Simplified

Haines shows how to use "backwards thinking" to transform strategies into actions. He explains that systems thinking begins with defining an ideal vision of the future. You then think backward through the strategic steps that will accomplish that vision. In this way, he demonstrates that strategic planners are really focused on outcomes, while other types of planning move an organization forward in the direction that it is currently headed. This workbook-style book walks readers through the visioning and strategic planning processes, highlighting teamwork activities and leadership behaviors that will likely be valuable along the way.

This book can be found in HECSA Library:

Strategic Planning Simplified: The Systems Thinking Approach to Building High Performance Teams and Organizations
Stephen Haines
HD 30.28 .H35 2007

Political Reconciliation in Africa

This book is written about the intersection between the justice required as states undergo political transitions and the peace building process which must occur to create social order within the state. Villa-Vicencio calls this intersection "political reconciliation" by which he describes a time when justice has been served and former enemies are able to come to terms with one another within a new social and political framwork. A native of South Africa, he brings to his writing the perspective of growing up within a culture of Apartheid, but fighting against that system the more he became educated and saw the devastating effects of it on his country's people. He highlights the processes by which different African nations are looking for peace, the reconciliation practices that are traditional throughout the continent, and why he believes that reconciliation is so important for moving forward.

This book can be found in HECSA Library:

Political Reconciliation in Africa: Walk with Us and Listen
Charles Villa-Vicencio
JZ 5584 .A35 V55 2009

Velocity

"In physics, speed with direction is velocity; in business, the application of velocity means that your organization can achieve operational speed with strategic direction to outmaneuver competitors, gain loyalty in customers, and rapidly build sustainable earnings growth." This business lesson, written in the form of a novel, shows how Lean Six Sigma can be implemented in an organization. The believable situations and realistic characters bring to life the strong feelings and interpersonal conflicts that this technique can raise in an organization.

This book can be found in HECSA Library:

Velocity: Combining Lean, Six Sigma, and the Theory of Constraints to Achieve Breakthrough Performance: A Novel
Dee Jacob, Suzan Bergland, and Jeff Cox
HD 31 .J2338 2010

The New Counterinsurgency Era

Ucko shows how the U.S. Military has and has not adapted its strategies and tactics in response to the Iraq War. It also discusses the military culture surrounding change, speculating about whether the adaptations are likely to become permanent changes or not. It also addresses the use of the military as a foreign policy tool, questioning whether military leaders will continue to choose the types of wars they want to fight or prepare for others that the U.S. ignores only at its own risk.

This book can be found in HECSA Library:

The New Counterinsurgency Era: Transforming the U.S. Military for Modern Wars
David H. Ucko
U 241 .U256 2009

Becoming the Evidence-Based Manager

There has been a long-standing debate in the management field about whether effective management is an art or a science. Latham emphasizes the role that research plays in successfully hiring and managing employees. Drawing on this research and supporting it with real world examples of successful management practices, he discusses management techniques for successful hiring, motivating, training, coaching, and appraising employees.

This book can be found in HECSA Library:

Becoming the Evidence-Based Manager: Making the Science of Management Work for You
Gary P. Latham
HF 5549.5 .M63 L383 2009

Sketching User Experiences

New products are released into the market constantly, but the reality is that few of them survive or thrive. Buxton asserts this is because many products rely heavily on technology, but that their design and usability have not been well thought out. He argues that design needs to be considered more systematically as new products are developed. However, he takes a compromise approach. How the system works in reality needs to be balanced with sketching and developing ideas early in the development process. The result, he hopes, will be a balance of good innovative thinking with development of engineering and technology to create a desirable as well as usable product. This book draws on examples from a wide range of product areas, considering computer technology, tools, transportation, and other industries. Significant attention is given to the role of sketching, storyboarding, cartooning, animation, and other methods of visual communication.

This book can be found in HECSA Library:

Sketching User Experiences: Getting the Design Right and the Right Design
Bill Buxton
TS 171 .B89 2007

A Thousand Splendid Suns

This novel tells the story of two women who struggle to survive in Afghanistan. Set during an unsettled time of war and oppression, the thirty-year relationship offers us a glimpse into family life, social structure, and history in Afghanistan. It also speaks about human nature and emotions which have no cultural boundaries--love, friendship, and family. This fictional story will help readers to experience life in Afghanistan through its characters.

This book can be found in HECSA Library:

A Thousand Splendid Suns: A Novel
Khaled Hosseini
PS 2608 .O832 T46 2008

Extraordinary Groups

Bellman and Ryan assert that teams instinctively know when participating in a group is something special. They believe that members of ordinary teams, whether as individuals or groups, experience a change in the way they see their world. This change happens because the experience of participating in the group satisfies a set of core needs that the members bring to whatever groups they join, though they may not be aware of these. Based on research involving many different teams, Bellman and Ryan have developed a model of these needs. They include:

• Accepting yourself while moving toward your potential
• Forming a bond with others by pursuing a common purpose
• Understanding the reality of the world while collaborating to make an impact

They assert that when the experience of participating in the group meets at least two of these needs, the experience will stand out as special. This book continues to explain how to lead groups that are considered special by their members.

This book can be found in HECSA Library:

Extraordinary Groups: How Ordinary Teams Achieve Amazing Results
Geoffrey Bellman and Kathleen Ryan
HM 736 .B45 2009